


‘cause there we are again, when i loved you so

by gentlenessofthelyre



Series: Maribat [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Mentioned Batfamily (DCU), if you blink there's adrijon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29958525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gentlenessofthelyre/pseuds/gentlenessofthelyre
Summary: He meets her once, with masks distancing them; then he leaves, and thinksthat was that.But fate has other plans.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Series: Maribat [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2185638
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	‘cause there we are again, when i loved you so

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know what I was doing. But here’s... this.

There is silence, when it is all over, when they watch the swarm of ladybugs cover the whole city and restore everything that was destroyed.

It is silent when the heroes board their ships and return to their respective cities; it is silent when Batman and Wonder Woman approach the Parisian heroes to offer guardianship; it is in silence that all of them refuse.

Robin turns to look at their leader as she clutches the two retrieved Miraculouses in her hands: the butterfly and the peacock. She looks up, and their gazes lock, briefly—but she turns her head to the side and walks away, towards her team, and faces her city. Batman walks toward their jet, and Robin follows.

Just like that, the tentative friendship they both formed was lost—she has her own life, he has his. He understands.

There was no need to dwell upon some things

* * *

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is his classmate and his study partner.

Jon laughs at him, repeating the word _friend_ over and over again.

 _A crush,_ Jason and Timothy teases him. Richard just smiles.

When he asks, Marinette’s expression turns amused, her bluebell eyes glinting in the light of the coffee shop, and she suggests, _acquaintances?_

He thinks it’s more than that.

* * *

The thing is, Marinette knows.

He sees it when they both watch the news on their phones, _a criminal has escaped Arkham Asylum_ and the words following after that: _the vigilantes have yet to arrive,_ and he fumbles for an excuse—she just smiles and pats his forearm, as if saying, _Go_ and _Be careful_. Knows it when he winces from recent injuries, and she is gentler when she touches him. Appreciates it when she lends him her notes on days he feels too tired to move.

The other thing is, Damian also knows.

She tugs on her earrings too often, the earrings that looks so much like a Miraculous. Her purse frequently moves on its own, and she stutters to cover it up. She slips food into it and when she reaches into it again, the food is gone.

He confronted her on a Thursday when they met up at the usual coffee shop.

He stood in front of her, staring at the brooch she wore so openly and asks, _Do you know?_

She looks at him in slight surprise and asks in turn, _Do you?_

He does.

* * *

It is when winter envelops Gotham that he realizes.

When the ground is slippery and too dangerous to walk on, when the trees are frosted with a sheen of ice, when the air is at its coldest.

Jon and Adrien are walking ways ahead of them and Marinette is by his side, laughing at their awkwardness. She slips a little, and he reaches out reflexively to catch her. Their faces are a little too close to each other and he could feel their breaths mingling together.

Her face lights up and she smiles, saying something in gratitude.

But all he could focus on was the way her eyes twinkled when her mouth curved up and she’s now looking at him with faint concern, still so close, and he’s thinking about how _he loves her—_

He laughs so suddenly, and sees her eyes widen in wonder. He pulls her close, burying his nose into her hair and feels the way she starts in surprise. He closes his eyes as she relaxes into the embrace, smiling.

It was then that he decided that loving her was the best and greatest feeling he’s ever had.


End file.
